The teenager has been called up for his country’s upcoming matches against Scotland and Finland, and after injury forced him out of contention earlier this season, the United player could now get his chance.

McNair has been one of United’s breakout players this season, coming from obscurity to play an important role both at centre-back and at right-back.

The 24-year-old finally experienced some first-team action after more than two months out of the side, and he said, “I just want to be involved now. Of course it was good to play.

“Training has been fantastic as well.”

Questions remain over whether or not Rafael will be United’s first-choice right-back for years to come, but for now he will be looking to impress his manager Louis van Gaal and hope the future takes care of itself.

Vincent Ralph

After graduating with a degree in English Literature, Vincent completed a NCTJ-accredited qualification in newspaper and magazine journalism in 2005. Shortly after, in a somewhat leftfield move, he began working at a secondary school in Kent. After eight years – the last four of which were spent as Head of Sixth Form – he began to write full-time, combining his love of football with his passion for the written word.Alongside his work for HITC Sport, he also writes film reviews for HITC Lifestyle… along with the odd music interview when fate allows.